After the D5000, the D3000 is Nikon's second four-figure SLR, and it's easing the D60 into a well-earned retirement.  That 10 Megapixel CCD sensor doesn't get any rest, as it's also found in this new model. 

We're glad to see progress elsewhere though, with a new eleven-point autofocus system, a wider LCD screen and a renewed effort from Nikon to make this camera easier-to-use for first-timers with a new graphical interface.

Handling

With its squat, stocky frame, the D3000 looks like its big brothers the D40x and D60, and is easy to get hold of, with a well-designed handle ensuring a good grip.  Anybody with big paws will struggle a little with the small buttons, but, overall, the D3000 does pretty well: it's well built, with a decent optical viewfinder (although not quite as good as the one on the Pentax K-m), and most of the controls in a sensible place, like the ring around the shutter release to turn it on and off or the scroll wheel at the back.  The viewfinder is too small for manual focusing, but given the diminutive size of the 18-50 mm lens, you wouldn't risk it anyway.  There is some good news, too, as a rangefinder is available, and you can also display a grid to help arrange the composition of your photos.

The 3'' LCD is generously sized, but still has a rather average resolution of 230 000 pixels.  That's nothing to brag about, but as the D3000 doesn't give you a live preview on the screen because of its CCD sensor, it's good enough for playing back your photos.  But given the relatively small number of buttons on the the D3000 (another effort to help make new users feel more at home), you spend a lot of time looking at the screen to adjust the settings, so we would have preferred a better display.  Alternatively, adding a few shortcuts on the joypad to adjust the white balancing, flash or ISO sensitivity would no doubt also have been welcome.  While we're mentioning sensitivity, it's interesting to note that automatic control over the sensitivity isn't available in P, S, A and M modes, which is a shame, as it's something that's easy to get it wrong.

In short, because the LCD screen is the dashboard you use to control nearly everything on the D3000, you have to make do with it.  To make the D3000 easier to use, Nikon has included several modes that help the newcomer get used to it (see inset).  Whenever you want to adjust any of the settings manually, whether it's white balancing, sensitivity or exposure, you to use the i button to modify them on screen.

The most exciting new feature is, of course, the presence of the same eleven-point autofocus system on this entry-level model as is found on the D5000 and the excellent D90.  Naturally, it performs in the same way as it does on these other cameras, with the D3000 using the same powerful 3D tracking system.  What's more, it also has a light to help in the most difficult cases.

Overall, this is a responsive SLR: switching it on without cleaning the sensor is fast and the burst mode of 3 fps is reasonable given the audience that Nikon is targeting with this camera.

Image Quality

We already know the 10 Megapixel CCD well, and the image correction processes that accompany it are more and more powerful.  The D3000 produces sharp photos up to 400 ISO, with very little coloured grain and blurriness that's kept in check.  At higher sensitivities, a noise management treatment is automatically applied, and you start to see a few out-of-place pixels, but there's nothing problematic until 1600 ISO, even with A4 prints.

Note: we haven't been able to provide the test results of the D3000 at different ISO sensitivities for technical reasons.  We'll update the test as soon as possible.

The stabilised 18-55 mm lens that we used for our tests produced good results.  The photos had plenty of detail, but the Canon 1000D takes sharper photos.  Optical defects, like chromatic aberration, are kept to a minimum.  Colours are lively and realistic.  You can print the photos straight out or send them to a lab without any need for retouching afterwards.  The matrix-based exposure meter produces photos that are little under-exposed, so it's sometimes worth adjusting the exposure correction.  The D-Lighting system works well and allows you to pick out details in darker areas of your photos, but you need to be careful at high sensitivities because it can also introduce extra noise.  The automatic white balancing is reliable, and even if it produces photos that are a little too warm under tungsten lights, it remains relatively neutral.


Against the competition

Anybody who prefers seeing a live preview of their photo onscreen will naturally gravitate towards the Olympus E-520 or the Canon EOS 1000D, the only entry-level SLRs to offer this feature.  The Olympus camera also has built-in stabilization, an effective anti-dust system but could do with a much better noise reduction system.  For its part, the Canon 1000D produces good photos, comes with plenty of software and has a wide collection of lenses.

Nevertheless, the Nikon D3000 still has several points in its favour, like its eleven-point autofocus system that's both fast and effective thanks to its 3D model, excellent noise handling and a new interface redesigned with beginners in mind.  To complete your comparison though, don't forget the Sony Alpha 230 or the Pentax K-m.